Footage Of Crew From A Fijian Fishing Vessel Being Executed At Sea Was Uploaded To Youtube 17 August 2014

[The Crone]

That's only one of many of the hoax ads. Check these search results.https://www.google.com/search?newwin...iw=853&bih=384

They came out because there are still luxury cruises in the region. From March of this year:

British passengers aboard a luxury cruise liner are recovering after the ship was attacked off the coast of Africa by pirates firing a rocket propelled grenade and machine guns.


The Bahamas-registered Seabourn Spirit was 100 miles off the coast of Somalia when the attack took place.


Terrified passengers were woken by the sound of gunfire as two 25 foot rigid inflatable boats came up to the liner and started shooting as their occupants tried to get on aboard.


There were 18 British passengers on board, but all were reported to be safe after the incident.


The ship was carrying 302 passengers and crew, but there was only one casualty - a crew member suffered minor injuries from flying debris. It is not believed that the bazooka fire struck the ship, but it was hit by small arms fire. The vessel escaped with only minor damage.


The crew used an on-board loud acoustic bang to repel the attackers who finally sped off without managing to board the liner. They did not return fire at the pirates.


The drama happened in an area notorious for pirate activity, leading to warnings to stay away from the coast where bandits board ships and demand ransoms.


David Dingle, a spokesman for the Miami-based company Seabourn Cruises, owned by US cruise giant Carnival, said Britons were aboard but he could not confirm the number.


He said the ship was en route to Mombasa in Kenya on a 16-day cruise out of Alexandria in Egypt.


The 10,000-ton liner offers the height of luxury, with huge suites, marble bathrooms and more than one crew member to each passenger on board. Most of the passengers are believed to be American.


"The ship's crew immediately initiated a trained response and as a result of protective and evasive measures taken the occupants of the small craft were unable to gain access to the ship," Mr Dingle said.


He said that when the rocket propelled grenade-type weapon was fired at the ship, the crew and passengers remained calm.


"The passengers were somewhat surprised and shocked because it happened at 5.30am in the morning and they were woken," he explained.


"The passengers were mustered in a public room, told what was going on and reassured that we were fighting off the attack. They were shocked but no passengers were injured whatsoever.


"We are extremely pleased that all the measures worked. The captain and crew did a fantastic job."


The ship has now cancelled its stop at Mombasa and will end the cruise in the Seychelles on Monday.


Mr Dingle said authorities in the US and the Department of Transport in the UK have been informed of the attack.


He said the company had no reason to believe it was a terrorist attack and all the evidence pointed to pirates.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201403010046.html

[blighted star]

I will never get on a cruise ship - pirate cruise or otherwise. I posted a thread last year on an old guy who was presumed lost overboard of the coast of the Top End in Australia. After listing the reasons why he'd picked the absolute worst place to end up in the water ie, sea-faring salt water crocodiles, sea snakes, sharks, box jellyfish/portugese man-o-war and irukandji I mean, fall overboard anywhere else (bar the pirate coast) & your biggest worry is drowning, hypothermia & sunburn.

Anyway, I decided to check out how often people really fell off cruise ships, it seemed to mne at the time that it would be pretty rare.

Nope.

http://www.cruiseshipmissing.com/


Pirates are the least of their worries. My mother seems to go on at least a cruise a year lately. She thinks these are just the cruise ship equivalent of spooky campfire stories.

I tell her to tie herself to the deck with a bungee cord whenever she leaves her cabin

[u2addict]

Ultimate Somali Coast Adventure Cruise......




Thanks for the laugh, Star. Brilliant.

I learned a new word too....Awesomesauce.

[blighted star]

All thanks should go to Crone - I definitely gained an education from her post!


An article we missed out of NZ on 20 Aug

http://www.islandsbusiness.com/news/...aiwanese-boat/

SUVA, Fiji --- Fijian police are investigating claims YouTube footage of fishermen being shot actually shows a shootout with Somali pirates. The Fiji Tuna Boat Owners Association says Taiwanese fishermen claim the footage shows Somali pirates being shot after a failed hijack. But a description of the footage with the YouTube video states it's of Fijian men being killed as they cling onto boat wreckage.

Fiji police spokesperson Atunaisa Sokomuri says the investigation is continuing. The man who claims he filmed what appears to be men being shot and killed in the open sea has spoken to 3 News. The video has shocked the online community since being uploaded, and while some say it's fake, a ballistics expert says he thinks it's real. Exposed and defenceless, four men appear to be shot and killed in the video uploaded to YouTube.

TV3 News followed the trail from the person who posted the video to a man on the end of a phone. But he was reluctant to talk for free. “I need something in exchange,” he says. “It is real.” Asked if he filmed it, he answered “yes”. The man later backtracked about filming it and said he wanted money for any more information. Christchurch firearms expert Robbie Tiffen says it seems authentic, as does the gunfire. “To me it looks real,” says Tiffen.

“The gunshot in the water is consistent with when we've fired into water ourselves and the bodies being struck looked correct.” He says the pinkish-red colour of the blood indicates the victims could have been shot in a main artery or the lungs. The online video suggests the shooting happened in or around Fijian waters, and while Fijian police are investigating, they didn't have any updates today. The video is shocking and in most parts it's far too graphic to broadcast. But to marine labour researcher Glenn Simmons, it's not that surprising.

“This kind of behaviour is not that unusual in the high seas,” he says. “There have been numerous reports of crew being murdered and boats being sunk.” The Taiwanese embassy in Fiji has confirmed one of the boats is from Taiwan, and Simmons says it appears the officers are as well, but with a Vietnamese crew. Simmons speaks Mandarin and says the orders made in the video are clear. “If you see anybody, kill them,' and that seems to be coming from an officer.”

Although Fijian police have reportedly asked Interpol for help, Simmons says it's quite possible those responsible, seen laughing and taking photos, will never be caught. But questions are emerging if the shootings actually took place in the Pacific. Fiji Fish's Graham Southwick says “we checked with all our Taiwanese boats and various things and they said oh yeah we know about this story it happened about a year or 18 months ago and the guys in the water being shot are Somali pirates”.

The Taiwanese longliner in the video is not licensed to operate in the Pacific and sources have told ONE News it was in Fiji some time ago, but has recently been operating in the Indian Ocean. Wherever the shooting took place, the video still brings to light the type of violence that occurs on foreign fishing boats trawling the Pacific.

[blighted star]

I like you Mr David Hammond ...

http://worldmaritimenews.com/archive...investigation/

The Fiji Police Force has confirmed that the case in relation to a YouTube video revealing the graphic shooting of five seamen is now closed. Fiji Police Commissioner Ben Groenewald said it had been established that the video was shot outside of Fiji waters and involved a confrontation between Asian Fishing crews and pirates somewhere in the Indian Ocean.*It has also been confirmed*that the persons shown in the video are not Fijian nationals.


He said that two former fishing vessel crews confirmed receiving the video from their friends.
Groenewald said it has also been established that the video was*first viewed in mid-2013, and had been circulating in Fiji*from*March 2014, according to the Fiji Village.
He added that information gathered from the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji and Telecommunication Authority of Fiji also confirms that the vessel shown in the video never entered Fijian waters.

Commenting on the closing of the case, David Hammond, Barrister-at-Law and Founder of the Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) said: “While the closure of the case by Fijian authorities is a welcome step towards greater clarification to the background of the video posted last week on YouTube, the unverified context and suggestion that it instead shows the killing of pirates, remains a disturbing issue of apparent general acceptance of summary justice in international waters. Importantly, this incident appears to be without either constabulary intervention or judicial engagement at any stage.

If these were pirates, (and which has not been categorically verified, nor proven), the handling of the incident by the Asian fishing crew and one crew member in particular who claims responsibility for the murder of all five seafarers, does not warrant the unlawful use of force and murder of seafarers who, at the time of the use of lethal force, posed no threat whatsoever to the Asian fishing crew.

The Asian fishing crew cannot reasonably claim self-defence, nor lawfully defend the actions of the shooter under the circumstances and context depicted in the footage. This was certainly not necessary, nor reasonable use of lethal force. The apparent relaxed nature of the crew who were willing witnesses to the shootings suggests that they were not under imminent threat thereby allowing the lawful use of up-to-and-including lethal force, as a last resort, in order to protect themselves.

Further, if Fijian authorities have been aware of the incident since March 2014 as reported in the media, the question must be raised as to why has it taken five months to formally investigate, or establish an investigation alongside international authorities into an incident that clearly shows summary killings from a commercial ship apparently in international waters?

If Fijian authorities have been previously aware of this footage, does this mean there has been tacit acceptance of summary killings at sea to the extent that such footage is otherwise being ignored and not investigated unless specifically profiled through social media platforms and media outlets?

Is this apparent acceptance of commercial seafarers being effectively allowed to be judge, jury and executioner becoming a regional norm, or has it always been the case and instead just not reported to the relevant authorities?

If so, such apparent acceptance does not meet international human rights standards, but instead highlights continued breaches of basic human rights at sea and in this case, on commercially flagged and registered ships.”

HRAS said it would continue its independent investigation into the YouTube footage with the support of international organisations, commercial entities and NGOs.
World Maritime News Staff; August 28, 2014

[blighted star]

& from Maritime Security News


http://maritimesecuritynews.wordpres...graphic-video/

Maritime Security News Note: Is this an old video of a crew summarily executing pirates at sea? It’s very hard to tell from the shaky video footage. One thing is certain, a full investigation needs to be conducted and the perpetrators brought to justice. The fact that this video is now circulating means that Somali pirates will see it, too.

Just how that will affect the lives of the hostages they currently hold is anyone’s guess. Equally, should they capture a Taiwanese vessel in the near future, then they may well take their revenge

From IHS Maritime360

http://www.ihsmaritime360.com/articl...caught-on-film

A video showing four men gunned down at sea posted on YouTube on Monday by a Fijian University student has become the centre of a police investigation. In the 10-minute video an armed man shoots and kills four men clinging to wreckage in the water. Other fishing vessels appear nearby. The crew on the vessel can be heard speaking Mandarin, Vietnamese and Indonesian. They later appear in 'selfies'.

The video is labelled "Fishing vessel Fijian crew getting shot outside Fiji waters". However it is now suspected the footage may have been an incident involving the shooting of Somali pirates off the coast of Africa a year ago after an attempted hijacking. Speaking with IHS Maritime, the Indonesian Seafarers' Union secretary Sonny Pattiselanno said the killings were "very, very brutal" and he would be contacting the Fijian union for more information.

The ISU has been involved in high-profile court cases this year involving Indonesian crew exploited and abandoned by Taiwanese fishing vessels. In one case, off Trinidad, two crew members died while working and were thrown overboard. The Indonesian manning agent has since been fined and imprisoned. Meanwhile Fijian Police have asked Interpol to help solve the killings and establish if, as labelled, the victims were Fijian nationals. For those wishing to view the video, please note it contains footage that some may find disturbing

[The Crone]

Trinidad?

Kind of far from home, weren't they?

[u2addict]

Crone, thanks a bunch for your mighty fine posting. keep up the good work, mate.

[blighted star]

Hmm. Has anyone besides the Fiji Gov't /Police said this was definitely not Fijians? I know they're full of shit & have probably been paid off because they're saying "our Taiwanese fleet say it's Somali pirates so we believe them- case closed" while Interpol & various Maritime authorities have clearly said it's not Somali pirates


Meanwhile I just found this from a local Fiji site

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=262260

Viti Noqu Viti - Truly Fijian Voices Aug 22 ? Edited ? Young Fijian Man Lost at Sea: Fiji Police Are Denying the video clip & the story are linked! So if they are not linked who are the young man being shot at in the image? They do look Fijians. Their built etc. Can someone please link these stories and tell the families of those those Fijian men that have never been found.



Read an excerpt of story from Vilisi Nadaku who got told the real story about the young Fijian man missing at sea till today.

Read more; Alumeci, qo tale nai kuri ni talanoa oya...mai vei Vilisi Nadaku [By Vilisi Nadaku ] Tau Div Bulls au sa vakabira yani qo na link ki na talanoa me baleta na gonebni Wailoku koya se yali tiko qo mai Tahiti.


Lost at sea Mere Naleba Monday, March 10, 2014


Joe Toromai and his wife, Eti Benamini, with a framed photo of their late son, Tomu Koimola, at their Marata Village home in Wailoku yesterday. Picture: JONACANI LALAKOBAU


A FAMILY is contemplating life without a son who is believed lost at sea. Joe Toromai and his wife Eti Benamini, of Marata Village in Wailoku, held a memorial service on Saturday for their second child Tomu Koimola, 24, who was on a foreign fishing vessel and went missing in Tahiti waters on January 9. Koimola's elder brother Andre Are Naoneata, 27, and his namesake Tomu Koimola, 34, were also on board the same vessel.

The family only came to know that their son was not returning home after Mr Naoneata and Mr Koimola arrived in Suva on March 1 on a different fishing vessel. Mr Naoneata said the three men left Fiji on December 20 last year on the fishing vessel Lurong Yuen Yu 205, and on January 3 this year the vessel was anchored in Tahiti waters. He said on January 9, the captain and the skipper of another vessel belonging to the same company were celebrating Chinese New Year on board and drinking alcohol with the deceased and his namesake. Mr Naoneata said he later found out from a crew member that his brother had fallen overboard.

"I had seen some of the people who were looking for something in the water. When I asked them, they said they were looking for a buoy," Mr Naoneata said. "No one told me that they were looking for my brother, even the captain of the boat. "Then I asked one of the Indonesian men if they saw the two Fijian men and he said that Tomu had fallen overboard." Mr Naoneata said the night before the incident, his brother had approached him in his room asking to use his mobile phone. He later found it in pieces.

"I found the phone in the wheel house along with some timber, fishing gaff and maul. These things are not supposed to be there. While I was still up in the wheel house, I heard them cutting a small hole in the storeroom. "When I asked one of the man what they were doing, they told me that the other Tomu was locked inside." He said he called out to his cousin who told him he was attacked by three crew members who beat him up with pieces of timber until he was unconscious and locked him in the storeroom.

"He told me that when he was just coming out of the storeroom." Mr Naoneata, in front of his grieving parents and relatives, relayed the dreadful story of being transferred to another fishing vessel - Rong Dayang 17 - in order to reach Fiji. He said until now the fishing company that's responsible had not paid them or tried to contact them. "We have been trying to contact the man who came home to get us but his number is diverted. "When we visited his office, the people there said he is in China," he said.

Mr Naoneata said officers from INTERPOL visited him on Monday night to take his statement. Questions sent to the Fiji Police Force remained unanswered when this edition went to press last night.*—*via Alumeci Delaibatiki Diani

[blighted star]

Fucking disgusting. The Fijian gov't whores out their traditional fishing grounds, allows the big bully fishing boats to use & abuse Fijian citizens with impunity, & then they personally broker the payoffs when they go too far & murder their slave labour.


http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=262342

]THE Ministry of Labour yesterday issued a cheque of $2460.60 as part of an outstanding wages payout to the two Fijian men who were on board the Chinese fishing vessel Lurong Yuen Yu 205. Andre Are Naoneata, 27 and Tomu Koimola, 34 both of Marata Village in Wailoku had arrived in Fiji on March 1 after 72 days out at sea and were trying to contact their employer for their salary but were given the run around. The two men were also with Mr Naoneata's younger brother Tomu Koimola, 24, who is believed to be lost at sea.



The trio left Fiji on December 20, and on January 3 the vessel Lurong Yuen Yu 205 was anchored in Tahiti waters. According to Mr Naoneata a party was taking place on board the fishing vessel where their captain was joined by another skipper of the same company to celebrate Chinese New Year on January 9. Mr Naoneata said his brother and his namesake were part of the party and were drinking alcohol until around 5pm on the said day. It was at night that he found out that his brother was missing, after being notified by an Indonesian crew member.

The payout yesterday is going to be shared among the two men while an inquest will be held to determine if Koimola died as a result of his work. "When the article came out in the paper, they were already working on documenting the papers for the payout," Labour Minister Jone Usamate said.

http://fijilive.com/fijliive-print-s...58346.Fijilive

The family of a seaman who went missing in the Tahiti waters early this year after he fell overboard a foreign shipping vessel has received a compensation payment of $24,000. Toromai Tomu Kaimoala, 25, was employed as a seaman on board the shipping vessel, Lu Rong yuan Yu 205 which is owned by RongCheng Ocean Fishery Co.Ltd. He fell overboard on February 9. A compensation claim was made to the company subsequently. Today, it was handed over to the family by Labour Minister Jone Usamate at the ministry's headquarters in Suva.

The compensation amount has been split five ways - $6000 each to his father and mother, while the balance which is shared by three dependents has been put in trust fund accounts operating under the joint custody of the Ministry of Labour. The deceased's father, Joe Toromai, expressed his gratitude to the Fijian Government and the Labour Ministry for their assistance in the matter. "No amount of money can bring him back, but we are thankful to the government for their support. The money will be used to meet family expenses and in looking after his younger siblings," Toromai said.

The payment comes four months after the deceased's brother and a cousin were paid $2640 in overdue wages by the same shipping company after they took up their case to the ministry. The deceased was employed by the shipping company along with his brother Adrea Toromae and a cousin, Tomu Koimola Senior, both of whom survived the trip. Labour Minister Jone Usamate said usually the process would take seven years "to be sure that the person has died." "In this case however all parties including the shipping company agreed that he had died when he fell overboard.

The company was willing to fork out the compensation for his parents and family," Usamate said. He said the ministry and the government believes in workers' rights and that employers must ensure the workplace is OHS compliant.safe for workers. "At the same time we would also like to urge everyone especially those looking for work overseas, that should they have any queries to come to us before they sign any contracts. "At the end of the day, we want to ensure that all workers are looked after well," Usamate said.

"Fell" overboard.

[u2addict]

"Fell" overboard.

This is too fishy....The perfect crime.

Are we supposed to beLIEve this shit?

SCUMBAGS!